Hiding Out

You may or may not have noticed, but last week was very quiet here on the blog. There is a very valid excuse for the first half of the week, since our family traveled to Birmingham to teach and encourage some future church planters through the ARC, but I have a little bit of a confession about the second half: I kind of crawled into a hole and did not want to come out. I say this is a "confession" because just last week I was so strong and optimistic about our current situation, and yet just a few days later I let it get to me. My strong foundation of faith starting chipping away little by little and by the weekend I was on the verge of a full-on meltdown. You see, we came home from that trip on such a high: we met great people, connected with old friends, had some great one-on-one time with Lilly since Jake stayed back home at a buddy's house, and then we came home and found our counters loaded up with groceries. And when I say groceries, I mean hundreds of dollars worth of household items that had been anonymously gifted to us through some people at the church, presumably our small group (which is just one more reason you should be in one! They take care of each other!). It was incredibly moving and I got choked up seeing the kindness of others and the church literally being the hands and feet of Jesus. That's what it's about... that's what church is supposed to be! On top of that, a few families had also been incredibly generous and given us cards, sent texts and emails, and even donations and gift cards! I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our church family, many of whom I don't yet have the pleasure of knowing as well as I'd like. But then, those little chips in the armor started coming along. I have been through this before, I know how it goes, but even though I knew it was a possibility, I was not prepared for what it would do for my heart. First, our insurance lapsed because of a miscommunication between myself and Josh and on day one of that lapse, I got sick... followed by Lilly and then Jake. This is the third time a stomach bug has swept through our household since March and this mama is OVER it. Then the AC in my car went out, after we thought it had been fixed. And the icing on the cake was the $1000 bill we received from the IRS for a miscalculation in our two thousand-eleven taxes. Seriously??? Little by little, all of those strong, courageous, peaceful feelings began to dissipate and fear, doubt, and other unwelcome emotions crept in. By the weekend I was a wreck.

"Is this what life in ministry is always going to be like?" I asked Josh on Saturday. "Great high's followed immediately by low points?"

He literally laughed at me (lovingly of course) and replied, "That's not life in ministry. That's LIFE."

Oh. Wow. And... he is absolutely right! I had somehow attributed anything negative happening in our life to it happening because we work in ministry, as if that should keep us immune from bad things happening. It was ridiculous, and I needed to be reminded that life is tough for everyone, not just for us. In fact, thanks to being a part of a life-giving church, life is easier because we have a community of people to surround us when things aren't going our way. This was not the first time I've seen this happen, and I'm proud to say I've been a part of cleaning a family's house to thank them for selflessly opening their home every week for small group and sneak-attack cleaning and freezer-stocking another family's house when they had a death in the family. People coming together to help each other out is what this life is all about; it's what God meant for the church to be. As I re-read some of the sweet cards and emails we had been given, these words were seared into my spirit:

Continue to take care of My church and My church will take care of you.

It was just the reminder I needed. In fact, if things never got tough and I never needed help or support, I wouldn't even realize what a gem the church really is! God brings us through trials sometimes to remind us that we can't do it alone, and I certainly know it's easier to get through tough times when you have others around you lifting you up!

So even though things are still uncertain and one of my children is still throwing up, I am reminded that it's not so bad. I need to stop looking at the circumstances and keep my eyes on Him, like I did right at the beginning of this mess new chapter. We even discussed how we wanted to handle that lovely bill from the IRS (seriously, if you're just now noticing the mistake, shouldn't we be off the hook?) and noticed that the amount of money we had been given was almost exactly equal to the amount of the bill... coincidence? I think not; He is already looking out for us. He has always been faithful, and this will be no different, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be easy either. 

So I'm out of the hole I crawled in and I think I'm over that hump, even if we take a few more hits here and there. But if I go missing for a week at a time again without warning, please shoot me an email and remind me to read this! That's what friends are for, right?

Pastors' Wives Uncensored - Week 3

Hi all! Instead of having a guest blogger today, you are going to be stuck with me for this week's edition of "Uncensored," whether you like it or not! I knew that I would add my post in at some point, and this week provided a perfect opportunity since I recently got some new found free time, and also because I was greatly reminded of why this role has more blessings than burdens. For those of you who don't know our full story, here's the condensed version... Josh and I met in South Florida while he served as a youth pastor at a church in Fort Lauderdale. After meeting and deciding that South Florida was not a fit for us (nor was being a youth pastor), we moved to northwest Illinois where he was the planting pastor of a satellite campus of a larger church. He had already told me at this point that he wanted to plant a church and since I didn't really know what that meant, it scared me to pieces. The campus pastor experience was what we like to call "church planting on training wheels" as we had the opportunity to start something with the safety net and backing of a larger church supporting us. It was about a year and a half later that we decided to start praying about the church that we would plant somewhere someday and only six months after that when we felt like it was time. Having only visited Lexington, KY a few times to visit my sister and her family, there was something that stirred in both of us that made us want to call the Bluegrass State home. In June 2011 we moved to Lexington to start meeting people and sharing the vision of our church and TurningPoint Church was born on February 12, 2012. We are currently seeing around 500 people come through our doors each weekend, lives being changed, and God move in big ways. It's been an adventure, and I know that the best is still yet to come.

So backing up a little, let me first say that I never thought that I would be a pastor's wife. I know I've shared this before, but I did try to say "no" to our first date because Josh was in ministry. When we met, I was a bit of a party girl and church was not exactly on my list of priorities. But he was persistent (as those of you who know him can attest to) and so I changed my mind and gave him a chance. It did not take long to realize that this was something special and after only 6 weeks (yes, 6!) he proposed and I said "yes." We got married 10 months later and immediately moved to Illinois to be campus pastors. Notice I say campus pastorS, plural. In his mind, this was something that we would do together, and in my mind, this was totally HIS thing and my role was to be a perfect little housewife, work my 9-5 job from home, and help out with the church here and there when needed. Every time he asked for my help I would inwardly complain that he never helped me with MY job, and the church was HIS job, so why should I have to help him?  I was constantly frustrated because he was working all the time and he was constantly frustrated because if I would've just offered to help and taken some easy (mostly administrative) things off of his plate, he could have spent more time at home. This frustration was alleviated a little when Jake was born as all of my time was spent caring for the sweetest face on the planet, but even with 12 weeks of maternity leave, I did not really "get in the game." You could find me at church on Sundays and I reluctantly went to small group once a week, but there was no real buy-in. Church was still something I "had to" do. 

It wasn't until we decided to move to Lexington that church became something that I "wanted" to do. I think in many ways it was less ministry to me and more planning and creating, which works well with my gift set. I was an event planner for a long time, so this role was more in my wheel house. We had Lilly during this time and I felt like a constant failure. Instead of Lilly being an excuse not to help, she was a new addition that was keeping me from helping out more. As a disclaimer, I never resented her and think I enjoyed her as a newborn than I even did with Jake, mainly because those "new mom" worries weren't there. With an 18-month old, a newborn, and a church in the planning phases, however, I did feel a bit run ragged. Instead of being frustrated that Josh worked all the time, I actually encouraged him to work more. We had decided that we wanted to do this while the kids were young so that they'd never remember dad missing dinner or working all the time because we wanted to build a place that they would always love and never feel like they were competing with. So when I went to my sister's house for dinner or ran to get groceries, I felt like one big, hot mess. Chances were, I hadn't showered that day, Jake was throwing a tantrum over something or another (he hit the "terrible two's" right around the time that Lilly came along) and I was lugging around the big bucket seat, probably slamming it into things while trying to calm down our son. They were probably imagined, and my sister has since assured me that I did not seem to be a complete disaster, but I felt like I just got those "pity-stares" from people wherever I went. I think I so desperately wanted to appear like I had it all together because I never wanted people to wonder why my husband was not helping more, especially since I was the one who continued to encourage him to have more meetings, meet more people, and get our church up and running. It was exhausting, yes, but I have no regrets about that. And when Josh was home, he would do double duty, trying to serve me well and spend as much time as he could playing on the floor with the kids, doing bath time and bed time duty, reading books, and just loving on them. I honestly don't know how he managed it all, but we had known that we would have this "busy" season when they were young, so that we could have more time to make memories with them when they would actually be old enough to make memories.

The church started around the same time that I went back to work. Managing two kids, my full-time job, and running the kids' ministry was a huge undertaking, but I feel like even though we were running around like crazy people, we figured out how to sustain that pace, at least for a short while. At this point we were running a sprint, and ministry is a marathon. Thankfully when I was about to burn out someone came along who was a good fit to take over the kids' ministry and things balanced out a little bit more. I took a break from serving all together, and a couple of months later I decided to just volunteer in the toddler room at one service and as a greeter at another in an effort to find my "sweet spot," which we're still figuring out (but honing in on by the way). 

Two weeks ago I went to the ARC Conference with Josh where we heard some of the greatest speakers in ministry teach on church planting, leadership, and ministry. On our long drive home we talked about what role I would have in our church in the future and how we can start preparing for that now. It was decided that I was going to take some time to learn all areas of ministry, so that I could see the nuts and bolts of the entire organization so that I would have a great base knowledge when that time came. The conference really had an impact on me, where I moved well past the "have to" do church, and the "want to" did not just turn into "get to" but "need to." I saw our city in a whole new light, watched the news and saw the darkness of our world and clung to the knowledge that Jesus and His love is the hope for this world. I left there needing to dive in, needing to help, needing to serve alongside my husband, maybe not as a lead pastor, but in a capacity that fits what I was made to do. We always teach "you were created on purpose and for a purpose," but until that ride home, they were just words that we say and they didn't apply for me. It was on that drive home that I realized that God has a mission for me, a purpose that He has set me apart to do, and I need to seek Him and listen so that I can fulfill that calling. I will be honest and say that I'm not entirely sure what it is yet, but I do know that it's time to "get in the game." I need to be a bigger part of His church.

If anything, me losing my job this week was confirmation of that. I don't feel like I was "let go" from my job, but rather "released." Whenever anything is released, the animal, person, or whatever generally charges out of there, ready to conquer whatever is next. It's only been three days and I'm still not sure what this all means for me or for our family, but I do know that God has closed that door so that I can shift my focus to some things that He's been calling me to do. I still may work, we just don't know, but this in-between time is being used to restore my spirit, quiet my mind, and prepare my heart for whatever is to come next. I've never been more excited, which seems like an odd reaction to a lay-off.

So here is what I will say about being married to ministry... it's hard sometimes, really hard. In fact, there are days that my husband comes home feeling like he was the community garbage dump as people pour out their problems to him. Don't get me wrong, that is his heart and what he's there for, truly to be a pastor to those who need him, but it can be draining at times. Then he comes home weary to a wife and kids who need him, and on some days he's just spent. When frustration wells up in me, my biggest struggle is with guilt. My husband is tired from doing ministry, from building the kingdom, and who am I to get frustrated with that when I see how important this mission is? I should be honored to be a part of this and yet, sometimes I just want him all to myself! And then I remember that God values our marriage, too, and that guilt goes away, and I know it's okay to want him all to myself sometimes. It took awhile, but we've found our rhythm and hit our stride, and do more together than we do apart. I say this now knowing that in a month we will have to readjust to find the rhythm again as it is ever-changing as our church grows, and hopefully always will be. 

The question I get the most is, "isn't it hard having everyone in your business?" and to that I say, "absolutely not." As much as Facebook sometimes annoys me, it's a great way for us to connect to our church family and let them into ours. This blog is another place for me to do that, to share our hearts and our happenings. If we truly are a family, then we have to put ourselves out there sometimes. Granted, we have our boundaries and family rules such as when we will and will not take phone calls, visitors, etc., but it's only by letting people in that you let love in. Yes, it can be hard and yes, we have been burned by this before. There are people (although it's few and far between) that try to use our friendship for their own agenda or have some misguided intentions, but the blessings FAR outweigh the hurts. I think back to Jake's baby shower in that small town in Illinois. I kid you not, over fifty people showed up! It was crazy! And all of them just wanted to celebrate our joy with us! And then when I was hospitalized with a blood clot, which was a super scary and uncertain time for our family, they came in droves to support us. We have been given gift cards and free babysitting by families who want to see our marriage remain healthy and do that as a token of their appreciation. When we have happy news, everyone shares the joy with us, and when times are tough, we divide the hurt. I was compelled to throw my "Uncensored" post in this week because I am in awe of the love that our church family has shown us this past week, and not just our TurningPoint family, but those from our previous church and several friends from other ARC churches. God loves us so much that He doesn't want us to do this alone, and the supportive texts, calls, and emails have healed a broken heart. How can I sit here and have a pity party when God has used this to bring people closer together? I will take my chances on opening up on others and take the occasional hurt from that in order to have this abundance of love, support, and friendship in my life. If you don't have that, I encourage you to go out and find that church family... and don't stop looking until you find the right fit. And don't just stop there... after that step outside of your comfort zone and join a small group, which is where I feel like real relationships and deeper friendships truly happen. And even though that seems like a lot, roll up your sleeves and really get in the game, serving in an area that helps build the kingdom. God loves to grow His family, and His family is such a wonderful thing to be a part of, so don't miss out on being a part of that. Get in the game, let yourself open up, and I promise you, putting yourself out there can be the start of some wonderful changes in your life.

Thanks for letting me open up to you... especially when my posts get this lengthy (which is rare). And thank you for loving our family they way you do. Being married to ministry is truly one of the greatest gifts God has ever given to me, and I can't wait to see how He uses us next!

PS - Can you tell that writing is therapeutic for me?!?!?

Away

So, remember how I was supposed to write a weekly Reflections post about de-stressing today? Yeah, well... um... that didn't happen (again). BUT it's for a very good reason, and one that is making me de-stress BIG TIME. After trick-or-treating last night (pics to come I hope... I didn't get any good ones but I think my mom might have), we piled into the car and headed south- to the beach! Josh goes for redemption at IronMan Florida on Saturday after we were robbed in Louisville last August, so we've landed ourselves in a condo on the 8th floor overlooking sand and surf. Ahhhhhhh. So, needless to say, my posts will be on hold for a few days... I guess next time I should plan ahead and pre-date some posts to get me through time away. Oh well, you live and you learn.

I will say, however, that since I'm here and have nothing to do other than cheer on my favorite triathlete and hang out with the kiddos, I hope to get a little reading done. I'm halfway through Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst and I think that fits in nicely with the de-stress theme I have going on. So in other words, next week I'll wrap up this topic, okay? 

So until then...

I've got my toes in the water, bum in the sand, not a worry in the world and a drink in my hand...

Life is good today.

Yeah life is good.

Reflections - De-Stressifying

Happy Thursday! Know what I love about Thursdays? That it's ONE DAY 'til Friday. Oh, and that we meet here for Reflections... that, too, of course! I must admit though that I'm ready for my dear friend Brittany to come back and do this with me again... I sure do miss her since she's been on a blog-hiatus, but with everything that has happened in her life in these past months, I think it was a much-needed break! It's not my story to tell, but let's just say that her family has been through a lot of stress, a lot of changes, but I think the dust is finally settling and things are (slowly) getting back to a new normal. I am just thankful that she has such strong faith and that this season has not shaken her at all. Just one more reason that I love her.

 

But enough sappy-talk for the day... let's get to it!

 

This past weekend at our women's retreat, all lessons, scripture, etc. focused around de-stressing your life. Whether your married, single, a parent, a student, or what-have-you, stress can be all around. I think it's how we choose to deal with the stress and the perspective around it that makes all of the difference in the world. This week I hope that you'll evaluate the "stresses" in your life with me and share what helps keep your world peaceful. Whether it's scripture, meditation, your quiet time, yoga, you name it, I'd love for you to share what balances you out. Or maybe you have yet to find a way to de-stress your life and constantly feel like you're running on a hampster wheel... that's okay, too, and hopefully you can find some clarity in someone else's post and suggestions. So chew on that this week and we'll meet right back here next Thursday to share... deal?

 

Alright... sounds like there is a little boy in this house that has found my iPhone, so I gotta go to battle. Just another "stress" in this daily life of mine!

 

 

Reflections - Time Commitment

This is very fitting. The topic this week is about time commitments and it's 11:09 PM on the day that my "Reflections" post is supposed to be up. Even more ironic is that posting this every Thursday is an ongoing commitment that I put on myself!

In an effort to do this post justice and actually make it thoughtful, I am going to put it off for another week. Why? Well, because this week has been totally out-of-control crazy. Sometimes I feel like I could say that every week, but when I look back on my week, it really wasn't that bad. This week, however, I've been up way too late every night (including tonight) and getting up before the kiddos to get a little me-time in. Our first TPC Women's Retreat is this weekend and all of my free time has been poured into ensuring that it's going to be a great event with relevant teaching. And then of course there's just the everyday joys of being a mom and my 9-to-5 that I do from home. This week, the blog took a hit... sometimes you just gotta choose what ball to drop.

The point is, sometimes it's okay to let a ball drop, even if it's a ball that you really love, as long as it's for the right reasons. I firmly believe that it's important to keep your commitments and be somewhere when you're supposed to be there, but some weeks the housework has to go by the wayside or maybe it's working out or (in this case) blogging. But when you drop a ball, make sure you're using that found-time to do something constructive and worthwhile.

The best part about planning for this retreat is that I have spent more time in my Bible than I have in a long time. I've spent more time praying and giving mini-sermons in my car as I drive Jake back and forth to pre-school (oh no, I'm turning into my husband!). But I also feel like I've made room for him to speak to me... I've cleared some space for Him, and in just a week I can feel His nearness. So often I know that this is all he needs- more of my time- and nine times out of ten I'm just too "busy" to listen.

My challenge to you this week is to take a look at all you're juggling in your life and see if there is one that you can drop, even if it's temporarily, in order to spend that time with Him. As the creator of time, I think God deserves a little more of ours, don't you?

Reflections... back on track

It's already mid-October and this month is flying by! In fact, the days are going so quickly, that I did not even realize until today that I completely forgot about posting a Reflections topic last week... whoops! Then again, Lilly has decided to stop sleeping during the night (seriously, I love you child, but enough is enough!) and I've started working out again (groan!), so I'm not firing on all cyllinders these days... please accept my apologies! But thanks to my dear friend, Laurel (who also seems to think that this month is flying by), I was reminded that at least one of you looks forward to these posts as much as I do! So she and I, as well as whoever else would like to join us, will be reflecting together this week and then applying it to our lives in next Thursday's post (if we remember- haha!):

 

So this week, please join me in reading a blog post from the fantastic blog of Lysa TerKeurst titled The Rip Current of People Pleasing.

Why am I choosing this and what do I want us to get out of it? Well, over the past couple of weeks my husband and I have been talking a lot about commitment- not about commitment to each other, but what we commit to others. Are we overcommiting? Are we doing it for the right reasons? Or are we just people-pleasing? As I was planning for our church's upcoming Women's Retreat (which I am totally stoked about by the way!) I stumbled across this post on people-pleasing and like the perspective that she offers, so I thought it would make a good weekly topic.

 

Sooo... having read that, how are you doing in terms of people-pleasing? Are you pleasing the right people for the right reasons? Are these commitments pleasing to God? Can you find any reference to this in the Bible?

 

Oh so many questions... don't feel like you have to answer them all or post within these parameters, but I'd love for you to post on the topic next week and share your thoughts! And if I don't overcommit myself this week, my post will be up next Thursday, too! Hope to have some fun stuff to share before then, too!

 

Have a lovely evening... and hooray for tomorrow being Friday!!

Reflections - Proverbs 31

Well, I survived Lilly's first birthday without tears... amazing, isn't it? My guess is that it's probably due to the fact that I'm still in denial about the whole thing and instead of telling people she's one, I'm just going to respond with "twelve months."

 

"How old is he?"

 

"Forty-eight months."

 

Who can name the movie???

 

Sorry... couldn't resist. But anyway, let's get to it, shall we? Today is all about the Proverbs 31 Woman. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, you can read all about her here, starting at verse 10. And just as a little tip when reading your Bible (since I know it can be intimidating), sites like YouVersion, which is where I directed you, are great because you can read the same passage in different translations. I personally cannot understand what I'm reading in the King James version... all of the thy's and thus's cloud the meaning for me, but it works for some people. And sometimes when I read something even in the New International Version, which is my preference, I still don't quite get the gist of it and switch over to something like The Message, which is a paraphrase of Scripture and reads more like a book. If you want to memorize scripture, this would not be the the version to use for that, but it's a great reference for helping you dig deeper and understanding something that is unclear. Just a sidenote... let's get back to the point, okay?

 

Growing up, I was unfamiliar with the Proverbs 31 woman- or the "wife of noble character" as it reads in the NIV translation. It wasn't even until I got married and actually started studying my Bible that I learned of her, and of course I wanted to know what she was all about since I was a new wife myself. And the farther I got down the page, the more and more inadequate I felt! Sure, some of these things don't seem too difficult... she brings him good, not harm all the days of her life. Okay, check... well, most days anyway. Well wait, if I don't do that all the time, does it count? And as I keep reading, I see that I don't do any of these things all the time! I feel like I provide for my family, but I certainly don't cook every night! And when have I ever bought a field and planted a vineyard? In fact, when have I ever planted anything that actually survived?  I don't sew, I say some pretty dumb stuff from time to time so I certainly do not show wisdom all the time, and as much as I try to work hard, sometimes I do get lazy and let things go. So my question is, have I failed? And that's when I close my Bible and start to really dislike this woman... who does she think she is anyway?

 

I think so many of us feel this way because we misuse this Scripture. Think about the Bible as a whole and what it provides. The Word is a guide-book providing us with so many great instructions on how to live life to it's fullest, serve others, and above all love. I never read my Bible and feel like a total failure- in fact it's quite the opposite. More often than not I read through it and am encouraged, uplifted, and my perspective changes for the better. I want to live a better, fuller, richer life, but I am also aware that I am a work in progress. In fact, the Bible tells me that, too.

 

So why then is Proverbs 31 so different? Well, I think it's because at some point women became so competitive. I'm sure the world of Facebook and blogs doesn't help because we're constantly comparing ourselves to someone else, who we think does it better and "has it all." Let me just tell you that nobody has it all... it's impossible. And not only that, but everyone is made differently, with different talents, gifts, and abilities. I desperately wish that I was a woman who got up before sunrise, had my quiet time, and then spent an hour on some sort of beauty routine and looked presentable and put together all day. I'm currently working on that first and second step, but let me just tell you that I find it exhausting to have perfect hair and make-up all day... I really do! Not to mention that I feel like once it's done, my hair will frizz and my mascara will run in a matter of minutes. There are some girls who are blessed and gifted in this department, and well, I'm trying, okay? Isn't that enough? And why, as women do we do this? Why do we compare ourselves... not only to each other, but to this 31 woman? Comparing will always lead us to failure, but striving toward will always result in positive results. Let's instead see her as a model for us as wives rather than a woman who "has it all." And seeing that we live in modern times that would not necessarily mean spinning wool but rather clothing our families with the resources we were provided, whether that means shopping at Baby Gap or Goodwill, depending on your situation. Some of us have jobs outside the home and bring in an income where others earn our place in the family through serving the family all day long, which is no easy task. As long as we're doing these things diligently and joyfully, I think we strive to be more like this model. Some of us cook elaborate dinners and others, like me, struggle to put something together, but yet still manage to feed our families and keep food in the pantry, and I think that's okay, too. Rather than being so hard on ourselves, let's start encouraging one another, complimenting each other, and how about this... asking each other how we can help? If we all worked together to be the women God wants us to be, what a beautiful thing that would be, right?

 

I was going to end this there today, but my friend Jessica taught me something that I didn't know before yesterday and I love it so much that I just have to share. She learned that in Jewish tradition, Proverbs 31 is treated as a blessing, and husbands recite it to their wives at certain sabbath dinners... how beautiful is that? The Bible says that the devil cannot curse that which is blessed, so imagine if we blessed the wives in this world with these words and treated this as more of a prayer and less of an impossible standard. Wherever you are and however you feel about this, know today that God has placed you where you are for a reason, whether that's in the home or outside of the home, making money or feeling like you're only spending it, and all He expects is for us to strive to always be better, but knows that we're always far from perfect. I pray this blessing on all of you wonderful wives, mothers, and women who read this today.

 

If you have a great post about Proverbs 31, whether it's your own or someone else's that's worth reading, please leave the link in the comments as I'd love to check it out!

Time to Reflect!

Happy Thursday, everyone! I have to be honest and say that today has been a tough one for me, mainly because I got up at 4:45 this morning to go for a run. I know, I know... I am SO not a morning person, but in this crazy life of ours, I have no other available time to get my run on unless I'm up before the roosters. Actually, a friend of mine suggested running together and I agreed because there is no way I'd be accountable to do this if someone wasn't waiting on me! But, just like anything else, it's going to take a couple of weeks to adjust to this new schedule so forgive me if my brain is mush on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

But anyhoo...

 

I wasn't really sure how long my hiatus from my "Reflections" series was going to be, but as it turns out, I just can't stay away! More than a hiatus, I think I really just need to make it an every-other-week thing rather than a weekly thing because that's a more manageable commitment right now. I want to have posts up when I say that I will, but I also want to have the flexibility to read or study whatever it is that I am being led to read or study, rather than just focusing on the weekly chosen topic. Make sense? I hope so. So in the upcoming weeks you can expect a Reflections post bi-weekly... I will probably post a topic one Thursday and my post on it the following Thursday then the next topic on the Thursday after that, etc., etc., etc. Cool? You're probably reading this thinking that you don't actually really care that much, but it makes me feel better to clarify so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

Which brings me to this week's topic! I think the reason I felt compelled to bring Reflections back starting this week is because God has been smacking me upside the head with a topic, and it's a pretty common one that I'd love to hear other people's opinions about. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the "Proverbs 31 woman" and let me just tell you that she is everywhere I look lately! I have read Proverbs 31 many times and am super familiar with it and with the qualities of that perfect Godly woman, but it seems like it's being pressed on me from every angle here lately in big and small ways. I'm not one to audibly hear the voice of God, but when I see something over and over and over again, I can always attribute it to His still, small voice... that's how God speaks to me. So over the past two weeks it's been everything from a great friend of mine posting a snippet of Proverbs 31 on her Facebook status everyday, to hearing it on K-Love (radio) every time I'm in the car, to even finally finding a date that worked to host a thirty-one party. It may not sound like much to you, but again, it's the tiny, little things over and over again that speak to me. I think God communicates in so many different ways and I know that we probably miss it sometimes, so I guess He knows that I need repitition so it really sticks... but of course it's not my job to figure Him out because I'd never be able to anyway. But back to my point...

 

Over this next week I want you to meditate on Proverbs 31 with me. It is basically a guideline of how to be a Godly woman and whether you're married or not, have kids or don't, it's something we should all strive for. How do you feel like you're measuring up? How do you feel about these expectations? Is this something you strive for daily or is this the first time you're reading it? I'd love to read your thoughts and you can check back next week to hear mine... ahh, it's good to be back!

 

And just because sometimes it's good to see what else other people are reading, I thought I'd include the book I'm about to start as well as one I just finished, just in case you're looking for something to pick up.

 

The one I just finished (well, I say "just" but it was months ago) might be hands-down my all-time favorite book. Granted, I'm not a big reader and it takes me forever to get through a whole book (if I finish it at all), but I devoured this one in a matter of days. It's historical fiction, so that helps, and it's a parody of the story of Hosea in the Bible. If you are looking for an incredibly good story that will leave you changed, I urge you to pick up (or download) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I promise you won't be disappointed.

The second is a book that our small group is about to start and is called Fresh Air by Chris Hodges. Chris is one of the founders of the ARC and leads a church that is somewhere in the ballpark of 18,000 people... yes, you read that correctly. I think his success is directly linked to the incredible amount of humility he has as well as this "fresh" relationship he keeps with Christ. I don't know about you, but I could certainly learn from someone like that!

What are some of your favorite books? What are you reading right now?

Reflections - Life Verse

Sorry this is up so late this week... I usually write my Thursday posts the night before and this week has taught me that if I don't do that, I'm at the mercy of my children's naps schedules to get it done... and naps have been few and far between this week. I also got a bit distracted by my quest to figure out a way to get Josh into IronMan Florida (which is in November and filled up in six hours this year!) and... well... I succeeded!!!!  I'm not sure what took me directly to Active.com rather than the IronMan website, but eventually one of my Google searches led me there and lo and behold they had some spots open! We literally held our breaths as we hit the "register" button and Josh wasn't even convinced until he called Active.com just to confirm with them... and... it's official!  Only 63 more days until he gets to try again, this time without the idiots throwing tacks in his path (let's hope!). So needless to say, I got a little sidetracked planning our mini-getaway. It may seem crazy to some, but after seeing how much work goes into the training, he deserves his fair chance at it... and I don't want him to have to wait until next fall to try again! Plus, my sister just wrote a post on spectating 101 and I'm ready to take what we learned from Louisville and kick it up a notch in Florida... particularly since our cheering squad will be smaller, which means we need to be more visible and more obnoxious, right??  Right.

So anyway... this race talk actually kind of fits in nicely with my "life verse" if you will. I know many people pick a "life verse," which is basically either the one that they live by or their favorite, depending on the person. You've probably heard the most popular ones many times (think John 3:16 or Jeremiah 28:11) and there is a reason they are popular- it's because they are that good and powerful.  I mean, John 3:16 pretty much sums up the whole point of Christianity in one simple sentence... it doesn't get much more powerful than that!  As for me, I have several that are reminders of how to live, how to act, etc, and I could seriously just pick the whole book of James and call it a day. I also have a special, personal affection for "All good and perfect things come from above" because it's found in James 1:17 and my birthday is on... 1/17!  Coincidence? I think not! But in all seriousness, this is mine:

 

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:33)

 

Some days it's really hard to be a Christ follower... to do the right thing, even when it's hard. Sometimes it means taking the high road or being the bigger person, even when you really just want to get mad at the situation. Following Christ means living by His rules- forgiving and loving your enemies, helping others, and "dying to self" meaning not giving in to the superficial needs and desires of this world, but giving those up in order to serve others and show glory to Him. As a family, we tithe our first 10% every month faithfully, and there are times that yes, my brain does realize that this money could pay for a vacation, new home decor, a new wardrobe, or other things that I just really want, but honestly don't need.  And there's that word - need.

 

As I reflect back on my life, I realize that God has never let me down- not once- in providing me with the things that I need. As a church planter, we have had our moments where we struggled to make ends meet, wondering where that next mortgage payment (for a house two states over) is going to come from. But I live and breathe this verse and I give it to Him. Sometimes you just have to throw your hands in the air and say, "okay, God, I don't know how this is all going to turn out, but I'm going to follow You faithfully because I know You've got this."  And He does... as long as you seek Him out, live by His rules, and do all that you can to live righteously.  Sure, the things I want never go away, but I have far more than I need, and then some. In fact, I have far more than I could ever want, too, and the more this verse gets into me, the more that "want" list diminishes. I spent twenty-five years of my life living for me, living selfishly, and living by my own rules... and it worked out okay most of the time, but something was still missing. Oddly enough, the more of my selfish desires I give up and the more I put others first, the more filled up I am and that missing piece doesn't seem so big anymore. He is the air I breathe, the song I sing, and the One from which I draw all my decisions, strenght, and encouragement.  He is worth seeking "above all else."

 

So... what is yours? I could not get the linky-thing to work (this has just not been my day or week for blogging apparently!) so if you did a post on this, please put the link in the comments.  Or I'd love it love it love it if you'd share your "life verse" in the comment section and tell me why it speaks to you so much. You never know... there may be someone who will read it and it will be exactly what they needed to hear this week.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your heart... look for a new topic on Monday and have a fantastic holiday weekend!  I think that leaves me with only one more thing to say...

 

GO VOLS!  I'm loving that it's football time in Tennessee again!  Go big orange! (and yes, I fully understand that I may have just lost some readers!)

This Week's Reflections Topic

Now that the craziness of getting the new blog up and running is behind me, I guess I should get back to our regular-scheduled programming! This week I want to keep it light and a little more personal since I always love reading the different personal stories that come out of these. So this week I want to reflect on our "life verses"- the verse or verses from Scripture that define who you are or the one(s) that you turn to in times of trouble.  Is there something in the Bible that resonates so deeply with you that you feel like it was written just for you to read? I would love to hear what those verses are and the stories behind them. If you'd like to write your own post on this next week, please link up with me next Thursday to share!  I am looking forward to spending my Thursdays with you again!

 

And for no other reason than the fact that they are just cute and have not had much "face time" on the blog here lately, here are just a couple of pictures to hopefully make you smile today!

 

I'm loving that he finally smiles for the camera... only in self-portraits where he can see himself though!

Couldn't you just eat her up??? Cuter by the day I tell you.

 

Have a happy Thursday!

Reflections - Accountability

Sorry for not getting this up until today (which goes for Brittany over at Daughter... Wife... Mom... Sis too) but my husband was out of town all week and, well, I wasn't able to accomplish much of anything aside from chasing down two little ones. And Brittany's 4-year-old had his tonsils and adenoids removed yesterday so she's been tending to that and will have her post up late as well.  Life happens, you know? But kudos to Laurel over at Welcome to Deckerville for beating us both to it.  So onto this week's topic, which is accountability:

Friends... we all have them.  Some are friends for a short season and some are friends for life.  Some are friends that you partied with in college or went wild with on spring break, memories that you'd maybe rather forget.  And then others are the ones who console you when you're upset or going through a difficult time, give you advice, and hopefully steer you in a different direction when you're choosing a not-so-great path.  Throughout my life I have had all of these sets of friends, many that are and will be my best friends for life, but if I had to choose one that holds me most accountable, it would have to be my husband (say it together... "awwwwww").  But seriously, since day one, he has been the one who has supported me the most, encouraged me always, and challenged me to be the best version of myself, even when it meant making tough changes in my life that I did not always want to make.  And his baseline measurement for everything?  Scripture.  With every protest I had and every time I thought he was wrong, he opened that book and showed me things I had never seen.  For example, if I got caught in a lie, he would point out that the Bible  It's funny to me now, but looking back on our journey together I can remember how frustrating it could be. To me the Bible was just a book of stories, but to him it was a manual for how to live your life, which is what it is supposed to be. Fast forward to now and it's the same for me and I hope and pray that my children will always view it that way.

But let me back up a bit and give you a little background here.  Josh and I met and had a bit of a whirlwind romance. We were already in our late twenties and were both ready to meet "the one." After one date it was evident to both of us that this was it- and he was even bold enough to tell me that. On date two. Yeah, my husband can be a bit intense.  And because of these feelings he asked me to marry him a mere six weeks after that first meeting. To look back on it, I still think it's a little bit crazy, but it's one of those things that with hindsight being 20/20, I know it was God's timing... because if we hadn't gotten engaged that quickly, we probably would not have made it.  Yes, you read that correctly... because we made a commitment to each other so early on, we decided to work through a lot of things that would have probably broken us otherwise. And these things I speak of are all accountability issues.

Let me preface this by saying that I was not some sort of horrible person before I met Josh. As a friend, I am the same... fun-loving, outgoing, caring (sometimes to a fault), and compassionate. I love people so much and am fascinated by how different we all are and love getting to know people better. But the trouble with this is that not only do I attach myself to the good ones, but I also attach myself to the "bad" ones. I put bad in quotations because I do not think people are inherently bad, but there are some who influence others in not-so-great ways, myself included. Because I love people, I also crave acceptance- I love to be liked, and to be popular if possible. With that desire being bigger than any set of standards I had set for myself and who I want to be as a person, it's very easy to make decisions that are not in your best interest... just to be cool. To be liked. A person (like me) often does things to impress whatever crowd they're running with at the time, whether good or bad. You see this with Olympians- they are all great because they surround themselves with greatness. On the other hand, a drug addict never set out to become one, but because they more than likely surrounded themselves with other drug addicts, they eventually end up running that same course, too. It's all about your circle of influence.

Before meeting Josh, I really thought that once you became someone's friend, it was almost your responsibility to always be that person's friend. But as he began to point out to me, some relationships do more harm than good, so why would I want to keep them in my life?  Uhhhh... I had no answer. Through our engagement, he encouraged me to evaluate all of the people in my life and try and sort out who it was that made my life better, who shared the same values, and who built me up to be a better person, rather than dragged me down.  Often people think that they are going to be the friend that changes a person for the better, perhaps helping them turn away from a bad habit or a bad relationship or even lead a non-believer to Christ. While in some cases this is true, more often than not the opposite happens. A person has to be willing and open to change before you can change them. But even more so than that, you need to remember that YOU can't change anyone, only Christ can do that. Severing ties is one of the most difficult things a person can be faced with, particularly if you inherently care deeply for the other person. But if a "friend" or past relationship is continuously tearing you down or bringing you pain, it's time to evaluate whether or not you will be a path to that person's heart change. And if not, it's time to move on.

There are still people in my life that probably question my decision to turn my back on some people from my past, shutting them out completely. In the world of social media overload, it's common for us to keep connected with everyone, good or bad: ex-boyfriends or girlfriends and even people who have betrayed us somehow still continue to be our Facebook friends. And for what? As Josh once asked me, do you think he/she really cares how you're doing these days? Curiosity is one thing, but caring is completely different. How I'm doing probably has nothing to do with a person from my past's happiness... that thought alone was just a bit egotistical of me. Like I said, it's not easy and the decision will probably be questioned, but in Josh I saw light and a future. I saw a man who would teach me the right ways to live according to the living Word. And without knowing it at the time, I must have had a glimpse of a future filled with freedom from those past decisions that brought me guilt or shame, often derived by unhealthy relationships with people who weighed me down or led me astray. Is my husband perfect? Of course not, nor does he claim to be. In fact, there are days that he drives me completely nuts and we still disagree on things from time to time. But at the end of the day, moving forward with him and making our marriage and friendship as strong as possible is far more important than the road I traveled down to get here. 

I hope you find this encouraging if you're facing any similar situations. I pulled few verses that helped me through a lot of this to share with you as well:

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

"If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" (John 14:6)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

***

As for next week, I don't even know what the topic is because it's Brittany's turn to pick!  Keep an eye out for her post sometime soon and it will be at the bottom.  And as soon as I find out what it is, I'll share it in a new post, too!  I hope my words are encouraging to you, especially if you find yourself in this situation. Just remember that no matter what, you are loved. Have a fantastic weekend!

Reflections - Break My Heart for What Breaks Yours

Oh Thursday Reflection time, I missed you!  It was nice to be unplugged for a week, but I realized that two weeks is just too long to go without this time.  And I was welcomed back with this verse to meditate one:

"If you claim to be religious but don't  control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.  Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."  -James 1:26-27

A few things stick out to me here... the first being the word "claim" vs. the word "caring."  It's the difference in stating that we are Christians and actually being the hands and feet of Jesus and doing the work of the Lord.  It's like this... my husband is in the last month of training for an IronMan triathlon right now.  For those of you not familiar, this is a 2 mile swim followed by a 112 bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile run all in a row.  This will take him somewhere in the ballpark of 15 hours, and many people attempt it and don't finish.  He has been training for over six months, buying and reading books on training plans, gear, and nutrition.  He gets his bike tuned up, he fuels his body with the right things, and is spending up to 20 hours a week sometimes working out.  So what's my point?  Well, he's equipping himself to do well at this event.  He could "claim" to be an IronMan without actually doing the race and people would probably believe him.  Or, he could even read all of this information and not apply it, not train, and just show up and try to wing it and be miserable.  For so many of us, that is what our Christian walks have been.  We "claim" to be a Christian and people obviously believe us, but what we do on a day to day basis does not show that.  We might even read the Bible, but we don't live it out by serving others daily, showing compassion, helping those in need, and spreading the Gospel.  As Josh would say, "sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings makes you no more of a Christian than sitting in my garage makes you my jeep."  We can do all of the acts of what we think is expected of us a Christian (church, Bible studies, etc.) but until the Holy Spirit really burns inside of us and breaks our hearts for what breaks God's hearts AND moves us to action (that's the really important last step), I feel like we shouldn't even make the claim. Being a Christian is all about the DOING.

Case in point... I grew up claiming to be a Christian, went to church, had all of the knowledge, could tell you most of the Gospel story, and believed that it did all go down like that in history.  But honestly, I lived for ME.  What I wanted, what satisfied ME.  I was my own God.  There was no part of me that felt a pull at my heart strings when I thought about the world's homeless population, widows or orphans, and I kept myself shielded from the sadness of the world on purpose.  Out of sight, out of mind.  I can tell beyond a shadow of a doubt that it has all been changing for me over these past four or five years.  When something moves me, I am compelled to try and do SOMETHING, even if it's just give money, and I never feel like that's enough.  As a church planter, my heart breaks for those who just don't "get it" yet, because I know what they're missing out on.  I look back on the years when I thought I had it all together and I realize now how much I was hurting.  I really was lost, but I couldn't figure out what was missing because I thought I had it.  Does that make sense?

About two weeks ago I talked on the phone with my college roommate.  We've been in touch through Facebook, but haven't heard each other's voices in a long time.  Somehow we got on the topic of our faith and she said it so well when she stated, "Kim, we really thought that we were good Christian girls, but how did we miss the whole thing?"  In the end, it was actually one of the best conversations I've had in a long time- we were like two "before" and "after" pictures who knew each other well in both situations.  I am so thankful for friends like her... she gets it and her heart breaks for those who don't.  Josh and I planted a church for that reason... we used to be on the other side of this understanding and realize how much better our lives are now that we have a true relationship with our God.  Planting this church was our "living it out."

But you know what you'll find?  Once you start, it won't be enough.  You'll want to help MORE.  You'll want to give MORE.  You'll want to do MORE.  It's a hunger that can never be satisfied. So you will find the people who use that as a crutch or an excuse.  You know the line, "well it's not like we can adopt all of the children in Africa, so what's the point of just taking one?"  Well you know what?  That ONE kid will be forever grateful!  That ONE person's life matters, just like YOUR life matters, right?  Are you saying that your life is more valuable than that one child in Africa?  And if nobody does anything at all then you know what?  You're right- we won't find a home for all of the children, but shouldn't we at least try to make a dent?  God commanded us to take care of the orphans and widows... did you know that if 7% of people who "claimed" they were Christian adopted ONE child, the world's orphan problem would go away?  That is shocking!  In a church of 100, that's only 7 people.  We run about 300 on the weekends, so we should see about 21 families moving toward this goal.  What if we all stopped claiming and actually started doing??  Now that's a world I want to live in!

Okay, so apparently this fired me up a little more than I thought it would.  It definitely struck a chord in me, that's for sure. And you're probably thinking, "well if that's your solution, then why don't YOU adopt a child?"  And the funny thing is that before we found out we were pregnant with Lilly, we were trying.  We knew it could take years so we started the process and even had a few interviews.  We started running into several obstacles and before we could get too frustrated we realized we were expecting.  Shortly after that, God laid it on our hearts that it was time to bring Josh's vision for TurningPoint Church to life.  It was not God's will for us at that time, but we both still feel that it is His will for us in the future.  I feel down to my core that there is a little baby out there waiting for us... whether or not he or she has been born yet or whether or not he or she is from the US or another country I do not know.  Whether or now we will adopt this child or simply foster this child I do not know.  But I do know that since I try and "Live it out" this gut feeling is a real thing- I must do something about it and when God says "move" I'll move.  I've shared that feeling with my family, but never publicly like this, but I must say it's kind of freeing.  It's like publicly announcing that, "Yes, God, I do trust You and I know You have this."  It feels good.

There was more that I was going to share on this topic, but I think I'll stop here for today.  Make sure you jump over to read Brittany's post at Daughter... Wife... Mom... Sis and leave your blog url in the comments section if you joined us this week.  Reading these posts is one of my favorite things to do.

As for next week....

I can't help but still be shaken up by the events that happened in Aurora, CO this past weekend.  I of course am saddened to my core for the victims and their families, but I am also so very troubled by the shooter.  What must he have been going through to get there?  But even more than that, I have to wonder why nobody saw this coming.  Did he have no friends?  Did nobody know him well enough to see that he was going off of the deep end?  And clearly nobody had been to his apartment since it was filled with explosives.  We'll of course never know the full story and we'll never understand.  In fact, I don't think we're supposed to understand, but he clearly did not have anyone in his life who truly knew him, could reach out to him, worry about him, or potentially prevent this horrible tragedy.

The Bible speaks a lot about accountability and being relational.  In fact, God's only true commandments to us were to love God and love people:

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'(Matthew 22:37-39)

Not only this, but we should also surround ourselves with people who can build us up and hold us accountable, making sure we are living it out and encouraging one another in Christ:

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17)

This week I want us to praise the people in our lives that "sharpen" us- who continuously challenge us to be better versions of ourselves and hold us accountable.  I hope that we all having someone (or many someones) in our lives who do this.  If you don't want to be specific with names you don't have to be... or you can maybe share a story from your life when someone challenged you and led you away from temptation.  This verse is the heartbeat behind these weekly "Reflections" posts and Brittany and I started them as a way to (from a distance) continue to sharpen one another and encourage others to join us to do the same.  I hope you'll post on this next week!

Reflections - Gut Check!

Sooo... our weekly reflections post was a challenge to update others on how you're doing in your daily walk with God.  Yikes.  Last Thursday when that challenge was posted I thought, "oh this is so great!  THIS is what's going to keep me on track!"  And I have to admit... it did for a few days.  For about four days I made sure to do my daily devotional right when I woke up and it was wonderful.  I really felt like it started my day off on the right foot and put my mind and heart in the right condition to really make the most of the day I had been given.  And then like anything else... I fell right back into my "busy" routine.  Because of my growing to-do list, my daily quiet time kept getting further and further down on the list of priorities until it eventually just did not happen.  And so this morning, I hang my head in embarrassment as I come here to reveal that I still have a long way to go to be the Christian that God wants me to be.  More importantly though, I still have a long way to go to be the Christian that I know I can be!  My heart desires it more than anything and it's the discipline that I struggle with.  Schedules, routines, regimens, etc. have never been my strong suit, which is strange because I am the daughter of a retired Army colonel!  My schedule is different just about every day... I don't even get up at the same time everyday but just prefer to wake when I hear the little ones.  I typically go downstairs, feed and play with them while having my morning coffee and watching some sort of morning show and then get them dressed for their various activities that day.  I sometimes have to take a break from this to check my work emails and respond to anything that needs immediate action, depending on what time the day started.  From there, it's all a blur.  I work, do laundry, clean house, run the kids from here to there, shower (most days... and usually not until around lunch time), grab a snack or two (but rarely a full meal in the middle of the day), and sometimes run a quick errand.  So you see?  God gets lost in the midst of this "important" stuff.  Aside from spending quality time with my kids and doing my job well, the rest is seriously just junk that gets in the way.  It can wait, can't it?

So what's the point?  What can we do to see past the junk and get to the bread of life everyday?  Well, I've been thinking a lot about it... what wisdom can I offer when I don't even have it right myself?  And here's what I've come up with:

Fasting is a Biblical principle and something we see throughout history, mainly when a person wants to have a big transformation in their lives.  About twice a year, I do some sort of fast, one being giving up television completely, which reminds me of how unimportant "my shows" are.  The other has to do with some sort of food, which is more along the lines of what you find in the Bible.  The idea is to give up something that has a stronghold on you- that thing that gets in the way of your relationship with Christ.  The cool thing with anything having to do with food is that your hunger pains are physical reminders to pray or seek God... so that relationship grows.  While I am not suggesting that we all start fasting (although if you've never done something like it and want to grow your faith, I do recommend one), my new "hunger pang" is going to be chores... hang with me for a second.  Every night after I put the kids to bed, I run around like a crazy person putting all of the toys away and straightening the house.  I love to go to bed with a clean kitchen and feel like I sleep better.  So my commitment instead is going to be that before I can get to that, I need to sit down and have my personal time with our heavenly Father.  If He truly is more important than my messy house like I say He is, then any time I want to tackle a household chore, He needs to come first, whether that's taking my daily time with Him or saying a prayer, or just giving Him a few minutes of praise for all He has given me.  In the evenings, I do realize that I might come to a point where I'll spend my time and be too tired to clean up (gasp!) but you know what?  That mess will be there in the morning to tackle and kids are just going to pull it all out again anyway.  And I'm generally so tired at the end of a long day, that I doubt the mess is REALLY going to mess up my sleep.  In fact, I think I may rest easier knowing that my spirit has been fed.  I do realize that all of this adds up to discipline, which I self-admittedly am not good at, but rather than being a scheduled thing, it's more of a "hunger pang" thing, so I'm hoping that does me some good.  And for additional accountability, I'll give a weekly update on how that's going.  Deal?

Brittany posted her amazing thoughts on this topic over at her blog Daughter... Wife... Mom... Sis, and I have to tell you, it's pretty awesome.  She gives us glimpses into her journal and I think they will really bless you.  I'm thinking I need to start doing that to track my thoughts and progress like she does! And if you shared with us, please leave a comment!

As for next week, I'd hate to double up on a topic, but since we all just admitted that this is something we need to get better at, the challenge is to do another weekly update on your progress.  Maybe we'll make this some sort of 21 day thing, since that's how long it takes to make something a habit.  Put some of these new ideas and methods into place and see if that helps, and share with us on where you're at, what is working, and what is not working.  I also do not want to post a deeper topic than this because I'm not 100% sure that I'll be blogging this week as we leave for vacation tomorrow (wooo-hooooo!).  But I do promise to do my update when I get back if I don't get around to it this week.  Cool?

As always, thanks for reading and sharing and for the encouragement and accountability.  We rarely get comments on these things so I'm not sure if they bless you at all, but I can speak for Brittany when I say that we love coming together on Thursdays in this way.  She's in Colorado and I'm in Kentucky, but we're sisters in Christ and the distance doesn't matter.  Have a wonderful week of seeking, praying, and hopefully growing in Christ.

As for me?  This chick needs to get packed... sunshine and sand, here I come!

Reflections - Just Do It!

Happy 5th of July!  Having a holiday mid-week really through a wrench in my organizational skills, but it was a nice day off nonetheless... more to come on that... along with a catch up on what we've been up to and where we've been for the past two weeks.  Summertime does not mean slower-time for this family- we're running just as fast as always!  But let's get down to it, shall we?

This week's topic was based on a message that my husband preached last week from the book of James.  If you did not get a chance to check it out, you can view it online here, and the week 2 message is up now, too, if you are at all interested.  There was so much good "meat" in this message, so I thought it would be best to just hone in on a couple major points so that I don't write a blog post that would take you two hours to read.

The first, is applications.  So you claim to be a Christian, eh?  Did you know that Christian basically means "little-Christ"?  So if I asked you what you were doing on a day-to-day basis to be like Christ and show His love to others, would you be able to give me several examples?  What about reading the Bible?  Are you actively in the Word?  Are you tithing?  Are you praying?  ... Let me say this before I go any further: these questions are just as much for me as for anyone else.  Although I am married to a pastor, I can put all kinds of "priorities" in my life above these that I just listed.  It pains me to type these words, but I have to admit that I do not read my Bible everyday.  Eek!  And you know what?  There are days that I get in bed and realize that I did not speak to God all day!  And then I look back at my day and you know what I see?  That the "priorities" I put in front of those things were running around like a crazy person picking up groceries, cleaning up toys, doing laundry, and doing the everyday mundane things that are inevitably going to need to get done again tomorrow.  Cleaning up after two kids is like shoveling snow in a blizzard... so why should I focus so much of my attention on that when the creator of the universe is patiently waiting on me to come to Him?  I think I forget what a privilege that is.  I mean, think about it: the most powerful force in the entire universe wants my company?  He wants to bless me?  And He wants to do it even though I don't love Him and serve Him perfectly?  If the President of the United States or maybe even a famous actor, sports player, or public figure wanted my company, wouldn't I drop just about everything to see that it happened?  Wouldn't I let the laundry sit for another hour or two or the house go messy for a day so that I could work that out?  And yet, someone FAR more powerful and important than all of those things beckons me to Him everyday and I brush Him off sometimes.  "Give me five more minutes, God," or "Let me finish these dishes, God" or "I'm not ready to get up, God... You made me and understand that I need my sleep rather than getting up to spend some time with You" always get in the way.  Sound familiar?

And then there's the other issue of reading that book of His.  In order to be like Christ (so a Christian in other words), don't we have to know what He said and did while He was here?  And isn't that all written down for us?  I know as well as anyone that the Bible is an intimidating book.  It's big, and it doesn't use the same flow of language that we use in everyday conversation.  But as Josh points out in this message, there are so many different version and translations of the Bible, so you can always try a different one if the one you have isn't working.  I feel silly in saying that until about five years ago, I did not know that there was anything other than the King James Version!  No wonder I was confused!  So if you take nothing else from his message this week, I at least hope you walk away knowing that there are resources out there to help you understand what it is that He is trying to say to You.  We speak to Him through prayer... He speaks through us in His word.  How can we live it if we don't read it?

He summed it all up with this one verse found in James chapter 1 (imagine that!):

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

Josh puts it in language that we will definitely understand: "Don't just hear it, but DO it!" 

How often do we know what to do, but yet we go the other way?  And how often does that turn out the way we'd like it to?  Hardly ever.  So let's try it together... let's do the things that we already know, learn what we don't, and try them out, too.  Make TIME for God, for He is the giver of time... shouldn't He get some?  And put Him first, because He always puts you first.  Start making choices based on His word and see how your life begins to change.

As always, you can read Brittany's thoughts over on her blog here and leave your own thoughts as a comment.  Appropriately, Brittany picked next week's topic that falls right in line with this.  Coincidence?  I think not.  So here's the topic for next Thursday:

"I have been challenged to my core recently to really evaluate how good I am doing with "living it out" so I pose the question....how are you doing???  I'd like for us to focus on this for next week.  And share along the lines for some accountability what is working and what may not be working right now.  And I'd like for the MAIN IDEA to be that of "cooperation and discipline"...what do you think??"

So let's live it out together this week.  I'm particularly excited about sharing what works for you so that hopefully some of it can be applied to my own life.  And just like every Thursday, I look forward to meeting you all again here next week.